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BY 

JACK RAYNER 




JOHN MURPHY COMPANY 

PRINTERS 

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND 



."3 V 



COPYRIGHT 1920, BY 
JACK RAYNER 



JOHN MURPHY CO., PRINTERS. BALTIMORE, MD. 

MAY 13 ' 
©CLA566958 



p 

X 



IrbUatton 

TO MY MOTHER, I AFFECTIONATELY 

DEDICATE THIS FIRST BOOK 

OF MY POEMS. 



INTRODUCTION 

This volume of poems is presented with full 
consciousness that the verses which it contains 
speaks for themselves, but we feel that it is 
appropriate to mention the fact that they pro- 
ceed from a nineteen-year-old author and that 
many of them were written when Jack Rayner 
was much younger than he is today. This 
grandson of the late United States Senator 
Isidor Rayner appears to us to have inherited 
much of the brilliancy of mind and power of 
expression which marked the public career of his 
distinguished grandsire. He shows rare prom- 
ise as a poet and a craftsman, as will be granted 
by most of his readers who remember his imma- 
turity. 



CONTENTS 

PAGB 

VOICES FROM BEYOND 7 

DEATH 8 

REVENGE 10 

SUCH IS FAME 12 

SACRIFICE 14 

A REPENTANT SINNER 15 

A VOICE FROM THE TOMB 17 

NATURE EXACTS ITS TOLL 19 

THE RECKONING 21 

CRIMINALS 23 

LIFE'S QUESTION 26 

SWEET SIXTEEN 27 

THE DRUNKARD 30 

BLIND 31 

LAND OF THE FREE 33 

THE PRICE 35 

CHILDHOOD HOURS 37 

MOLLIE'S CAPTAIN 38 

OUR ANNIE 40 

THE STRAIGHT OR BROAD 41 

THE CONVICT 43 

THE UNFORTUNATES 46 

RECALLED 48 



CONTENTS— Continued. 

PAGE 

THE MASTER CRIME 50 

PAY WITH A SMILE 52 

THE BUSY MAN 53 

EGOTISTS 54 

ALWAYS HOPE FOR THE BEST 55 

THE FOLLY OF YOUTH 57 

DUST TO DUST 59 

A WARNING 61 

HATE FOR THE WORLD 62 

THE SUPPLIANT 63 

INNOCENCE 64 

THE MISANTHROPE 65 

HUMANITY'S CURSE 67 

THE UNTASTED CUP 69 

CRY OF THE WILD 70 

CREATION 75 

LOVE'S DENIAL 78 

THE BALLAD OF A STAINLESS SOUL 80 

THE REVULSION OF LOVE 85 

AT REST 87 



Rhymes and Reasons. 



VOICES FROM BEYOND. 

I. 

Can spirits return from the world beyond 

To converse with their earthly friends, 
And warn them of dangers and horrors untold, 

Unknown to the minds of men? 
As yet no spirit from the great beyond 

Has revealed the mysteries of hell ; 
They always say to the medium 

I'm happy, contented and well. 

II. 

Why does a soul that is happy, 

Reveal all the joys above 
While a soul that is writhing in torture 

Cannot warn the ones that it loves? 
What a blessing to this universe, 

If a voice from the depths of Hell 
Could shout its pain in the ears of the world 

With its warning of horrors to tell. 

m 



Rhymes and Reasons. 



DEATH. 

Death, death, death, that grim black sister of 

night, 
It stretches forth its pitiless hands 
To crush out the breath of life. 
Its fingers are wet and clammy 
With the blood of a million souls, 
And sightless orbs that seem to say : 
'Come, stranger unto my fold/ 

It fastens its claws on the baby 

That screams and crys for life, 

It wrenches the soul from the mother-to-be 

In her duties as a wife. 

It tortures the fear-crazed husband 

As his mate whom the good God gave, 

Is snatched from the hands of her lover 

And thrown in the big, black grave. 



[8] 



Rhymes and Reasons. 



Death often tarries at your door 

Waiting to enter the room, 

Laughing the while with fiendish glee 

As it knows its victim's doom. 

It raps at the door then lingers, 

Knowing only too well 

That the tortured body cannot escape 

The final ring of the bell. 

We all have to face this specter 

Whenever it bids us come, 

Whether it be in the darkness of night 

Or under the rays of the sun. 

It waits not for kings or princes 

Or lords of the mighty land, 

We're subject to its bidding, 

And the wave of its mighty hand. 



[9] 



Ehymes and Eeasons. 



REVENGE. 

Revenge for an act of cruelty, 
Not physical torturing pain 
But a willful stab to a bleeding heart 
As a twig that is snapped in twain. 
To shatter and break with a heartless laugh- 
Love that is born of God 
My hatred and curse will follow through life 
'Til death puts me 'neath the sod. 

How sweet is the word revenge, 
With its weird and haunting dreams ; 
Love, how I hate that cursed word 
And all its alluring themes. 
Embittered against humanity 
You've made me, and you alone ; 
I'll pay in hell for my burning hate 
For my other sins I'll atone. 

[10] 



Rhymes and Reasons. 



I played you square and honest, 

My heart you crucified ; 

You betrayed my trust by deception, 

With cunning skill you lied. 

I yielded to all your wishes 

You've always had your way, 

I'll follow through life to revenge my hate 

And pray for the bitter day. 



[ii] 



Rhymes and Reasons. 



SUCH IS FAME. 

Great men have ruled this universe, 

As all historians tell; 

Some have been sent by the hand of God 

Others were sent from hell. 

We all admire the great in them 

Whether its good or bad ; 

In our minds we see ourselves 

In the places these men have had. 

Nero the pompous lunatic 
Played music while Rome did burn; 
I admire him for his nonchalance 
Though sense he would never learn. 
Pompey, the brave and glorious — 
Crassus, the billionaire; 
Caesar, the victor of many a war 
Was manly, just and fair. 

[12] 



Rhymes and Reasons. 



Alexander, Napoleon and Frederick the Great, 

Are men who will live in fame ; 

Powerful, strong and mighty — 

Forever endures their name. 

Bismarck, the man who was moulded in iron, 

His God was his mighty sword; 

This genius taught the Kaiser, 

The famous ex-war lord. 

William Hohenzollern was great like all the rest ; 

There's plenty of good in the worst of us. 

There's plenty of bad in the best. 

He was cruel, vindictive, unscrupulous, still 

I admire the man who hurled 

His power and proudly stood erect 

Alone to conquer the world. 



[13] 



Rhymes and Reasons. 



SACRIFICE. 

The word that we call sacrifice, 
Is obsolete as the dead ; 
It's used to cover a selfish act, 
By the ignorant and foolish is said. 
It's used by lying hypocrites 
And poor benighted fools ; 
Selfishness is the spice of life, 
And the world by its power it rules. 

Everything's done for a motive, 

The truth must be a fact; 

The thing that you call sacrifice, 

Merely covers some selfish act. 

By doing for others, you're pleasing yourself, 

Where is that self-less love ? 

It's not to be found in this big, wide world. 

It's only with God above. 



Rhymes and Reasons. 



A REPENTANT SINNER. 

Oh God ! have mercy on my soul 

Forgive me for my sins; 

I've led a dissipated life 

Now my atonement begins. 

I've played in the hands of the devil 

He's been my only pal, 

But I've severed the bond between us 

And bid him a glad farewell. 

Whiskey and women, dice and cards 
In return for a soul that's lost; 
Not that ! Oh God ! for we all are saved 
By Thy son who died on the cross. 
Truly, Oh Lord ! I'm sorry, 
Like a coward I crawl to Thee, 
When death is claiming its victim 
Dear God, have mercy on me. 

[15] 



Rhymes and Reasons. 



Oh merciful Heavenly Father, 
The friend of the homeless waif, 
In Thine arms, dear Jesus, 
Take me and keep me safe; 
Lead me away from temptation, 
Save me from sinning again, 
Show me the glories of Paradise, 
If it is thy will — amen. 



[16] 



Rhymes and Reasons. 



A VOICE FROM THE TOMB. 

There was silence in the court room 

As the jury took their seats. 

I listened for the words that spelt my fate. 

The judge looked grim and solemn and my law- 
yer's head was bent. 

I knew my doom was settled ; ah too late ! 

The judge said, "Stand upon your feet 

And listen to what I say ; 

You stabbed your wife, the one that you just 
wed, 

The penalty for this in a civilized age 

Is to hang by the neck until dead." 

I gazed about that big dark room, 

I saw my mother's face. 

There was horror in those patient eyes of gray. 

I saw her sway a second. 

Her face turned ghastly pale. 

"My God", she said, and fainted dead away. 

[17] 



Rhymes and Reasons. 



At last the dreaded day arrived. 

They took me from my cell. 

The guards marched on my right and left, 

The holy priest behind me 

With a bible in his hand 

Praying that my soul may be at rest. 

The gallows looked dark and gloomy 

As I mounted the creaky steps. 

They gently put the rope around my neck. 

I shivered slightly when I thought of 

What the judge had said. 

But my nerve it hadn't failed me even yet. 

Repent, repent, I beg of you, the holy man he 

plead. 
I raised my head to God and said a prayer, 
"Forgive me Lord, I'm sorry, and take my soul 

with Thee." 
And I left a world of misery and of care. 



[18] 



Rhymes and Reasons. 



NATURE EXACTS ITS TOLL. 

Love is the greatest thing in life 

That's blessed by the hand of God, 
A love that's pure and clean and straight 

Till death puts us 'neath the sod. 
Is the greatest gift of a merciful Lord 

To those who do His will, 
But the vagrants and the sinners 

With disease and destruction, He'll kill. 

Back in the years, long, long ago, 

There lived a woman named Nell, 
With all the beauty that nature could give 

But a heart that was black as Hell. 
She sold her body for money 

Her soul she flung in the dust, 
Till disease came rapping at her door 

"Pay me the toll for your lust." 

[19] 



Rhymes and Reasons. 



With horror she slammed the door in his face, 
Threw herself on the bed, 

Tore at the rope of pearls round her neck 
Till her skin was bruised and red ; 

Cursing the God that gave her life, 
Foaming and grovelling with fear, 

"The mills of the gods grind slowly," 
Yet they never shed a tear. 



[20] 



Rhymes and Reasons. 



THE RECKONING. 

There's many a man who's gone to Hell 
With a curse on his dying lips. 
There's many a soul that's tortured 
In that big, deep, dark abyss. 
There's many a mother waiting 
For a son who will ne'er return 
All for the sake of democracy, 
And a world to be born again. 

The sorrow that is the hardest to bear, 

Is to lose your precious sight, 

And blindly grope your way through life; 

With never the joy of light. 

With never the glorious sunshine; 

And the big, blue sky above, 

An existence void of happiness 

As hatred is void of love. 

[21] 



Rhymes and Reasons. 



Hell, awaits the ex-German Emperor, 
And his band of evil Huns 
Who ravished and raped poor Belgium 
For the sake of Kultur and fun. 
For the sake of their evil passions 
And their love of power and gain, 
They made the whole world suffer 
Then said, they weren't to blame. 

But there's a day of reckoning 
For all these frightful crimes, 
The Kaiser — General Hindenburg — 
And every German swine — 
The torture and the suffering 
They imposed on all mankind, 
Will return to them a thousand-fold 
At the bidding of Father Time. 



[22] 



Rhymes and Reasons. 



CRIMINALS. 

I. 

In the bitter cold of a winter night 
She was steadily tramping on, 
Wearily plodding the unkept streets 
'Til night gives way to the dawn. 
Then like a hunted animal 
She sneaks to her hidden lair 
Flings herself on a filthy bed 
Such is a harlot's share. 

II. 

The thief yields to temptation; 

They're mostly a lazy lot — 

They aspire to riches through idleness, 

A bed instead of a cot. 

They want the good things life can give; 

All manual labor they shirk. 

So they rob and plunder as fate directs 

And run from the demon work. 

[23] 



Rhymes and Reasons. 



III. 

The murderer is a different type 
They're such that I can't analyze — 
Some make a business of this crime 
And their victim usually dies. 
There're others who kill through temper, 
Revenge or burning hate; 
Frequently murderers of this kind 
Repent when it is too late. 



IV. 

The drunkard is to be pitied, 
He's weak, not wilfully bad — 
He fails to see the right and wrong 
Especially when a lad. 
Influence and bad companions 
Wreck his morals and health, 
But in the end this weakling 
Is only hurting himself. 



[24] 



Rhymes and Reasons. 



V. 

The men who're depraved morally 

Are victims of circumstance, 

Most always from birth they'll bear this stain 

They've really not had their chance. 

The fault is their mothers and fathers, 

My reasons I won't explain ; 

Accept what I say or toss it aside, 

I tell you they're not to blame. 



VI. 

Life is what we make it, 

We all have our sorrow and care. 

The poor have their chance the same as the rich, 

The world all over is fair. 

God has endowed us with a brain, 

He gives us our chance with the rest 

Be honest, keep working and really try, 

And you'll soon take your place with the best. 



[25] 



Rhymes and Reasons. 



LIFE'S QUESTION. 

What is the use of living 

When sorrow's your only friend, 
What is the use of dying 

Oh God, if that were the end. 
But it isn't, the Hell you get here 

Is only a small per cent. 
You pay your debt in the great Beyond 

For a life that has been ill-spent. 

What do you get for a petty theft, 

A year or so in jail. 
Do you ever think of the price you'll pay 

When your soul is called from bail. 
Whiskey you've drunk, and pleasures you've had, 

But what is your reward, 
Your soul is damned with fire and thirst 

The vengeance of the Lord. 

[26] 



Rhymes and Reasons. 



SWEET SIXTEEN. 

I. 

A girl of sixteen, with the bloom of youth 

And the purity of a nun, 
Was broken in heart and spirit too 

By a rich man's only son. 

II. 

He opened her heart with flattery 

Deceit and a lying tongue, 
Showed her the glories of paradise 

By a love that was false and wrong. 

III. 

Youth answers the fire of love 

With body, mind and soul ; 
Giving all, asking nought 

Like a sheep that is lead from its fold. 

[27] 



Ehymes and Reasons. 



IV. 

Honor, purity, family and home 

Are memories of the past. 
When the god of love speaks, 

All must come, it respects neither color nor 
cast. 



V. 

The future is a distant blur, 
The past a gruesome thought ; 

The present is a blessing 
Which the hand of love has wrought. 

VI. 

How soon you are disillusioned 

With ideals shattered and wrecked ; 

As time the worker of wonders 
On its victims is ready to check. 



[28] 



Ehymes and Eeasons. 



VII. 

So this girl that gave all, with never a sigh 

Answering the call of love. 
With only a tender memory left 

By the mercy of God above. 

VIII. 

Does she say to herself while thinking 
Of the time that nature called : 

'That it's better to have loved and lost 
Than ne'er to have loved at all/ 



[29] 



Rhymes and Reasons. 



THE DRUNKARD. 

Oh God ! for a drink of whiskey, 

A drop of alcohol ! 

My nerves are all aquiver 

And my body is wrecked and sore. 

I sold myself to the devil 
For wine, women and song ; 
A few short years of luxury, 
My, boy it wasn't for long. 

Don't listen to evil companions 
Who will laugh when you sink in the mire, 
Curse you when you are down and out 
And call you a drunken liar. 

I pray to the Lord to forgive me, 
My body is festering away. 
Dear God roll back the universe 
And give me yesterday. 

[30] 



Ehymes and Reasons. 



BLIND. 

Blind, blind, my eyes are gone. 

Oh God ! why not strike me dead ! 

What have I done for a curse like this 

The tears refuse to be shed. 

My brain's going to snap like the crack of a 

whip — 
I can't think, I'm mad, I'm mad. 
Give me my sight for a moment 
Oh ! for the sight I once had. 

Blindly groping my way through life 
With a weakened and faltering step ; 
The joys of life forever barred 
Chained to this horrible debt. 
Oh for the sunshine and laughter, 
The blessings of a merciful God ; 
But life will be black as the gates of hell 
'Till I'm buried beneath the sod. 

[31] 



Rhymes and Reasons. 



I welcome the grave with open arms, 

And pray for the days to pass, 

When the blankness and the misery 

Have spent their force at last. 

When the rattle of this monster 

Is choking out my breath, 

HI shriek and cry, "Thank God ! Thank God ! 

At last I can welcome death." 



[33] 



Rhymes and Eeasons. 



LAND OF THE FREE. 

The senate and congress rule this land 

With mighty bands of steel, 

And Woodrow Wilson on his throne 

His power his subjects feel. 

We pay well for our privileges 

Our king receives his fee — 

Three cheers for our noble country ! 

God save our monarchy ! 

What right has a man to take a drink, 

What right has man to smoke; 

What right has a man to make love to a girl 

Or tell a riske joke. 

What right has a man to happiness, 

What right has a man to joy ; 

What right has a man to live at all, 

He's a puppet, the government's toy. 

[33] 



Rhymes and Reasons. 



We should trip along with a wrist watch on 

And chirp pretty lullabies ; 

And greet our fellow sisters 

With ever such wistful sighs. 

We should knit and sew and learn to cook — 

Play checkers and dominoes. 

And mercy me the treat of all, 

We'll be able to darn our hose. 



[34] 



Rhymes and Reasons. 



THE PRICE. 



Money, the root of all evil 

The price of a woman's soul 
Robbing her of her beauty and health 

Making her wretched and old. 
All for the sake of a trinket or two, 

A dress or a pretty hat 
So she says, "Money, Money, 

Money will get me all that." 

II. 

The common sport of the libertines 

The drunkards and the thieves; 
The property of the mistress 

For the eyes of men to see. 
Lower and still lower 

Like a craft on the stormy waves ; 
Weakly fighting a losing fight 

With nine toes in the grave. 

[35] 



Rhymes and Reasons. 



III. 

Wild nights of dissipation, 

Days of remorse and regret 
Follows the God of illicit love 

Making her pay her debt. 
If women could only understand 

That a soul without a stain 
Is respected by man and rewarded by God 

Then this poem is not in vain. 



[36] 



Ehymes and Reasons. 



CHILDHOOD HOURS. 

I often think of those good old days 

When I sat by my Mother's side, 
And she told me stories of fairies 

Of goblins and Indians wild. 
She stroked my head and kissed me 

And called me her "Angel Boy." 
Oh ! God, for those happy days again, 

And that pure, innocent joy. 

It's all a tender memory, 

A memory of the past. 
There's nothing in being sinful 

And leading a life that's fast. 
There's nothing in dissipation, 

It is the truth I say. 
Give me the love of a Mother, dear Lord 

And wash my sins away. 

[37] 



Rhymes and Reasons. 



MOLLIE'S CAPTAIN. 

Mollie is going to be married 

She's happy as can be, 
The Bridegroom was a Captain 

Who failed to cross the sea ; 
This soldier fought with pen and ink 

At the battle of 7th and B. 

The Hero of my -narrative 

A strong and robust lad, 
Ah, the fate of our brave soldiers. 

Alas, the truth is sad; 
I'm chucking my job as office boy 

To join the colors, Dad ! 

So he marched to his office every day 

A striking leader of men, 
Like a disciplined soldier of many a war; 

As he shouldered his mighty pen, 
Work at your desk, boys ! Work like Hell. 

The battle will soon begin. 

[38] 



Rhymes and Reasons. 



The heroes of most novels, 

Are paid with blushing brides 
So the hero of my story 

Will tote one by his side. 
The unlucky part this soldier plays 

As he takes off his Khaki and bars, 
He won't be able to show his bride, 

The glories of war — a scar. 



[39] 



Rhymes and Reasons. 



OUR ANNIE. 

Annie's very worried, 

Her boy's across the sea, 
Her eyes get red and fill with tears 

As she sips at her cup of tea. 

She locks things up just as before 
And mislays all her keys, 

But her heart is full of sorrow 
As she sips that cup of tea. 

Now what would Annie do 
And what would Annie say, 

If she didn't have that cup of tea 
To sip the livelong day ? 



[40] 



Rhymes and Reasons. 



THE STRAIGHT OR BROAD. 

There're things that strike terror to my soul 

The horrors, that they convey 

Crush back the man that's in me 

And the coward is king of the day. 

I tremble and shake as a man with the ague 

And my heart like a lump of lead 

Weighs down my body and crushes my soul 

'Til I take my place with the dead. 

Oh grave with thy silent blackness 

Thy wonderful soothing touch, 

A Mecca for all life's sorrows 

A friend of the downcast and such — 

Some curse you and run with deadly fear 

You who mean all, no harm 

As a father welcomes his prodigal son 

You welcome with open arms. 

[41] 



Rhymes and Seasons. 



When a baby first peeps on the light of day 
With its innocent playful eyes, 
Ignorant of life's vicissitudes, 
Deceptions, its sins and lies. 
Quickly time makes its changes 
It's merely a toss of the dice 
A life of religion and sacrifice 
Or indulgence in crime and vice. 

God creates, the devil destroys; 
Which will you take for your friend? 
Remember the path of pleasure 
Its price and its fatal end. 
Remember that all who yield to sin 
Their soul through folly they sell 
Simply for frivolous, bloodless joy 
Its price is destruction and hell. 

Oh ye who enter the door of vice 
Look once, see the devil grin; 
Another weakling gone astray 
Another victim of sin. 
But ye on the straight and narrow, 
Great will be your reward 
For wordly pleasures can't compare 
To the happiness given by God. 
[42] 



Rhymes and Reasons. 



THE CONVICT 

Behind the bars for a lifetime. 



A convict for life I say; 
Bars and stripes, stripes and bars, 

For many a dreary day. 
Shut off from everything decent, 

Comrades, cut-throats and thieves, 
I'm innocent as a new born babe, 

But guilty, the world believes. 

How slow the minute passes, 

The hours seem like years ; 
Fate mocks me on every side, 

Laughing at my tears. 
I'm afraid of the world, 

I'm afraid of myself, 
I'm afraid of the great beyond ; 

I'm cursed and shunned liker a leper, 
As the days roll wearily on. 

[43] 



Rhymes and Reasons. 



What is life but a make-believe, 

Why, death is its greatest friend; 
I'm bitter, I tell you, against the world, 

Bars and stripes 'til the end. 
What is there left in life for me, 

I'm only a child of God ; 
Death ! why, death is easy ; 

Living's the thing that's hard. 

A miserable cot and a crust of bread, 

Is all that there is left ; 
Sorrow, remorse, and blank despair, 

All joys of life I'm bereft. 
All I can do is count the days, 

The weeks, the months that pass; 
Living, barely living, 

Till life welcomes death at last. 

Memory, I can't remember, 

For whiskey had muddled my brain, 
God ! how I hate the cur, 

More than Abel was hated by Cain. 



[44] 



Rhymes and Reasons. 



He stole my wife by trickery, 

The coward, to her he lied; 
Then laughed in my face, and cursed me, 

In a flash my memory died. 

They said he died by a bullet, 

From a calibre thirty-eight; 
I didn't kill him, I swear it, 

I was made the pawn of fate; 
I lied to save a woman, 

Whom I'll love till my bones do rot. 
She told me all, she did it ; 

She fired that fatal shot. 



[45] 



Rhymes and Reasons. 



THE UNFORTUNATES. 

Help them, pity them every one 

Humanity's lowest scum, 

Worse than the murderer and the thief 

And the drunken derelict bum. 

A crime against civilization 

Yet all of their rotten kind, 

Forever these moral lepers 

Will float on the sands of time. 

Degeneracy born in them 

Or a wilful perverted act — 

It's weakness, passion, abnormal mind 

It's manhood the leper lacks. 

Thank God I'm no judge to judge them 

Through life with this cancerous sore 

They're morally rotten, rotten as hell, 

Decayed clean through to the core. 

[46] 



Ehymes and Reasons. 



Life has its human wrecks, 
Drunkards, thieves, and dopes — 
The wilful, vicious murderers, 
Who await the hangman's rope. 
Let me die on the gallows 
Or die in a drunkard's grave 
But pervertion and moral degeneracy 
Spare me dear God and save. 



[4?] 



Rhymes and Reasons. 



RECALLED. 

To you who have saved me by your love, 

And the spell of your radiant bloom ; 
Lighting my darkest hours 

With sunshine instead of gloom. 
Bringing me peace and happiness, 

The emblem of the dove; 
By your purity, innocence, faith in all, 

And your wonderful matchless love. 

To you I give all that's in me, 

My God I've no good to give ; 
Only the shell that was once a man, 

Because of the life that I've lived. 
Because of indulgence and weakness, 

Like a poisonous weed I grew; 
My associates, drunkards and libertines, 

But now, thank God, I am through. 

[48] 



Rhymes and Reasons. 



I can look the world in the face once more, 

As I did in the years gone by ; 
Not crawl away like a sickly dog, 

That's waiting its chance to die. 
I'll shout my joy — from the housetops, 

Crying, I'm through, I'm through ; 
Sweetheart, I've youth, and life, and love, 

But the greatest of all, I've you. 



[49] 



Rhymes and Reasons. 



THE MASTER CRIME. 

I. 

Don't try to defy the laws of God 

And the workings of Nature's hand, 
By taking the life of an unborn babe 

Then stilling a conscience that's waned. 
Whether it conies to the girlish wife 

Or the hardened prostitute, 
The sin is the same in the eyes of God 

You're robbing a tree of its fruit. 

II. 

Whether it's passion or money, 

Illicit or licensed love 
It's murder in the first degree 

By the laws of the God above. 
You're taking a life that is human 

Like a murderer who skulks in the dark, 
And stabs a defenseless victim 

Leaving only his fatal mark. 

[50] 



Rhymes and Reasons. 



III. 

The innocent unborn baby 

That's nursed in its Mother's womb 
Waiting to peep at the light of day 

Unheeding its terrible doom; 
Its life is crushed in the making, 

A defenseless pitiful soul 
Robbed of its place in the big wide world 

By a deed that is cruel and foul. 

IV. 

The wife, the maiden, the prostitute, 

The sin is just the same. 
Social duties, figure and health 

Or to save a blackened name. 
You ate the fruit that's forbidden 

Through passion, money or love 
So pay your debt with a willing heart 

A law of the God above. 



[51] 



Rhymes and Reasons. 



PAY WITH A SMILE. 

Life is what you make it, 

Joy is craved by all; 

The fool yields to temptation 

And is bruised by the fatal fall. 

Happiness comes through goodness, 

Beware of the evil way 

Ye fools with your senseless ravings 

In time you will have to pay. 

Pay with a smile, laugh at your fears 
Like a coward, don't whimper and cry. 
Think of Christ nailed to the cross 
For the sins of us mortals did die. 
A hero, love and respect him 
Worship his stainless name ; 
You cowards, you worthless weaklings 
Smile as you pay for your game. 

[52] 



Rhymes and Reasons. 



THE BUSY MAN. 

Her daddy's got the S. 0. S., 
He shoots from morn 'til night ; 

He's full of empty promises 

That fade with the morning light. 

Today he'll get an aeroplane, 

The next day its a Ford, 
But he ends up at a movie show 

And says he's terribly bored. 

He buys a suit for fifty bucks 

A coat for thirty-two, 
He motors in his auto 

With a chauffeur dressed in blue. 

He smokes a thirty cent cigar 

Tells Lola to beware, 
Have bath room clean and cellar straight 

Exit — the millionaire. 

[53] 



Rhymes and Reasons. 



EGOTISTS. 

Life is full of egotists 

You and I and He, 
He is wrong — I am right — 

So let the argument be. 
You spell I with a capital 

As many of us can see — 
But take out your I — 

Put in a You — 
And forget the pronoun Me. 



[54] 



Rhymes and Reasons. 



ALWAYS HOPE FOR THE BEST. 

I. 

You may howl, you may cry 

You may scream with regret 
You may pray for the yesterday, 

But the old, old story repeats itself 
You have sinned, now's your time to pay. 

Hearts that are broken by remorse 
May bleed till the crack of doom 

But fate in time exacts its price, 
Whether it's late or soon. 

II. 

The old cry of yesterday 

With its useless and foolish tears 
Are signs of weakness and cowardice. 

Don't give way to your terror and fears 
But straighten your shoulders and swallow 

The pill, that's bitter as gall to taste 
Don't let the weakness master the man 

And throw your whole life to waste. 

[55] 



Rhymes and Reasons. 



III. 

There's always a land of beginning again 

With its sunshine and joys untold 
Far from the misery and mental despair 

With its terrible strange-hold. 
When life looks the blackest 

And hope is gone 
Then is the time to rejoice 

For the darkest cloud will soon pass away 
And the white flag of peace it will hoist. 



[56] 



Rhymes and Reasons. 



THE FOLLY OF YOUTH. 

Think of the mother, who weeps for her son 

The babe she nursed at her breast — 

The babe, who grew into boyhood 

With many a sweet caress; 

The boy with his childish playthings 

And his sturdy manly ways 

Soon a man as the years slip by 

To the mother a few short days. 

First a pack of cigarettes 

Next a deck of cards 

Satan is planting his deadly seed; 

Often the road is hard. 

Come on fellows, let's get some girls 

And a luscious bottle of booze; 

There're only two roads open ; 

Which one will you choose' 

[57] 



Rhymes and Reasons. 



It's all very well for a year or so 
Everything turns out right 
A headache in the morning 
Women and whiskey at night; 
Beautiful sensual women 
Who'll yield to every desire, 
Liquor, plenty of maddening joy 
Beware, you who play with fire ! 

Women are quickly forgotten 

Gambling soon passes away 

Those who taste of the wine of life 

Ninety per cent, will pay. 

Think I'm a fool, well stick it out — 

May God rest your weary soul 

When you scream your regret in the jaws of 

death 
Whiskey exacts its toll. 

You'll probably die in a drunkard's grave 
Cursed by your family and friends; 
Again you might swing at the end of a rope 
My God what a horrible end ! 
You might be mangled or crushed to death 
You might be stabbed or shot ; 
Fill your belly with whiskey 
But remember that hell is hot. 
[58] 



Rhymes and Reasons. 



DUST TO DUST. 

In this big world of selfishness 

Where every man's for himself 

From the lowly negro that sweeps the streets 

To the monarch of riches and wealth ; 

The uppermost thought in the minds of all ; 

The key to ambition's door 

Is the word that's broken or made a man 

The one little word called more. 

The wrecker of homes and families 
By the strength of its mighty hand 
Men are slaves to its bidding 
'Tis the power that rules the land. 
'Tis the power that makes or crushes 
It's a friend or a bitter foe 
Since Adam and Eve 'til the end of time 
This story 'twill ever be so. 

[59] 



Rhymes and Reasons. 



Men have sacrificed life and love 

For money power and gain 

Plunging madly, staking all 

For that shower of golden rain. 

What does it all amount too 

If people would only learn 

That the rich and the poor man rot alike- 

To dust ye shall return. 



[60] 



Rhymes and Reasons. 



A WARNING. 

Take a tip from me, youngster 

And listen to what I say; 
Beware of an evil woman 

She'll always lead you astray. 

Don't fall for a pretty countenance, 
With eyes that are soft and bright 

A face that's camouflaged with rouge 
And a body that's soft and white. 

Don't let your passions blind you 
If you do, you'll have much to regret. 

For hidden dangers menace you 
Dangers you've never met. 

So beware of a pretty female 

If you don't, you'll have years to atone, 
I beg you, take a fool's advise ; 

And leave the women alone. 

[61] 



Ehym.es and Reasons. 



HATE FOR THE WORLD. 

You the inspiration of my life 

The healing hand that soothes all sorrow's 

wounds ; 
That crushes back the hate, revenge and spite 
I've held for all since 'parture from my mother's 

womb. 
While as a babe I'd frown and cry and scream 
And hate the one who loved me tenderly 
Whilst as a boy my brain would form some plan 
To cruelly hurt my friends revengefully. 

Who are you to change my views on life? 

Creation, nature everything I hate. 

Curse you with your pious tender love — 

Leave me to myself, my God, and fate. 

You have inspired me to do things good 

I don't want good, I chase it from my brain ; 

Leave me, before I strike you dead, 

Let hate, revenge and spite forever reign. 

[62] 



Rhymes and Reasons. 



THE SUPPLIANT. 

Darling, won't you forgive me? 

Let's start all over again ; 
Forget our foolish quarreling, 

And live like women and men. 
Forget our petty differences, 

Our silly and useless fights; 
Life, and love and happiness, 

Are every mortal's rights. 

You've hurt me more than words can tell, 

I'm willing to forget ; 
I'd die before I'd lose you, 

'Cause I've loved you since we met. 
I'm happy when I'm with you 

Let's be like we were before; 
Come, sweetheart, smile and kiss me, 

And the world is mine, once more. 



[63] 



Rhymes and Reasons. 



INNOCENCE. 

God bless you my pretty darling 
And keep you pure and straight 
Away from life's temptations 
It's vices forever hate. 
Let your soul bear not a stain 
That's polluted by passions sway. 
Remember remorse is worse than hell 
And there's always another day. 

When a man seeks a wife what does he want 

Not one that is second hand 

The girl of his choice must truthfully say 

My body's been no man's land. 

A man can sink to the depths of hell 

And rise from the filth and mire 

If a woman yields to passion's call 

She'll forever be scarred by the fire. 



[64] 



Rhymes and Reasons. 



THE MISANTHROPE. 

Curse this damned existence, 

In every hellish form 
And all its petty vanities, 

Its sorrows, its sins and wrongs; 
If I could put on paper 

Every wretched, cursed thought, 
I'd foam like a dog with the rabies 

At the anger and hate they've wrought. 

Hate is the only joy in life, 

Love and respect I despise 
I gloat on others sorrows, 

And damn my soul with lies. 
I curse the pretty sunlight, 

Flowers and nature's own 
Can such a moral, degenerate wreck, 

Ever expect to atone ? 

[65] 



Rhymes and Reasons. 



No ! And what's more I'm not going to, 

I'll die like I've played the game. 
I'm only one of a crooked lot 

Whom the hand of fate has named. 
I'll croak like a million others 

While no one will shed a tear, 
Make way for another victim, 

A victim of Satan is near. 



[66] 



Rhymes and Eeasons. 



HUMANITY'S CURSE. 

I. 

Whiskey, the downfall of Kingdoms, 

The curse of the human race ; 
The parent of most every sin and crime 

And things that are low and base. 
Robbing young men of their manhood 

Flinging them into the street 
Robbing the maiden of purity 

Morals and everything sweet. 

II. 

The enemy of the righteous, 

The friend of the thief and bum 
Give way to the Kaiser Alcohol 

Give way to the demon Rum. 
Give way to this pitiless savage, 

Who respects neither God nor Man, 
But crushes its friends and crushes its foes 

With a cruel and relentless hand. 

[67] 



Rhymes and Reasons. 



III. 

Its picture is bright and cheery 

To the weakling and the fool, 
It beckons the youth and maiden 

To join the sinful school. 
Once the class is started 

After the ring of the bell 
The pupils receive their instructions 

And a one-way ticket to Hell. 

IV. 

There's many a one who enters 

There're few that e'er return 
Those who come back have paid the price 

By the scar of its fatal burn. 
They'll reap the harvest of folly 

With a blasted and ruined life 
Such are the victims of whiskey 

Such is its terrible price. 



[68] 



Rhymes and Reasons. 



THE UNTASTED CUP. 

My life is an open chapter, 

Without a single flaw; 
I've lived like a saint of the olden day 

For threescore years or more. 

But give me back my youth again, 

If only for a day 
And I'll have a taste of the primrose path 

And the pleasures I've thrown away. 



[69] 



Ehymes and Reasons. 



CRY OF THE WILD. 

I. 

To roam in the wilds of the forest 
To drink from the bubbling brooks 
To see the deer and the antelope 
And gaze on their frightened looks. 
Free once more and savage, 
Wild as the wildest deer 
Knowing nothing caring naught 
Devoid of terror and fear. 

II. 

A child of nature who's carefree 
Under the gorgeous sun 
The ground your bed, the sky your roof 
The world no work, just fun. 
Civilization a haunting dream 
Power, money and gain 
Forgotten we live on another earth 
The strongest and fittest will reign. 



[70] 



Rhymes and Reasons. 



III. 

An animal free to stalk in the wilds 
And sleep in the caves at night 
Self preservation the only law; 
Right, what you think is right. 
For every morsel and scrap of food, 
Fight like a maddened beast; 
Crawl away to your hidden lair 
And enjoy your well earned feast. 



IV. 



Grab your mate as the cave man did 

Thousands of years gone by, 

Let not your heart with sorrow melt 

When you hear her pitiful cry. 

Cruelly hit her when angry 

Love her at passion's call 

There's not a woman on God's green earth 

Who'll resist; they are bound to fall. 

[71] 



Rhymes and Reasons. 



V. 

First crush her pride, stamp it out 

Like a poisonous hissing snake. 

Man is the ruling mortal, 

Let women tread in his wake. 

Next make her obey your every wish ; 

Women are feeble and weak, 

They'll love your strength and worship your 

might 
A companion is all they seek. 



VI. 

Love with a woman consists of these — 

Brutality, passion and hate 

To hold a female by tenderness 

Is directly insulting fate. 

One can't hate what one has loved : 

It's a spark that never dies. 

It shows that love is stronger than hate 

Whoever says otherwise lies. 

[72] 



Rhymes and Reasons. 



VII. 

Brutality towards a woman shows 

That love is very strong 

A man will hurt the one he craves 

But his temper won't last for long. 

Deep feeling will cause his every blow 

Passion directs his aim 

But love will master everything, 

All other emotions are tame. 



VIII. 

Women are creatures of passion 

In all its varying forms 

Brutality, love, revenge and hate 

The four that are very strong 

Love the mightiest of them all — 

A torturing, maddening desire. 

Her body and soul to the man she lovea 

Like oil to a raging fire. 

[73] 



Rhymes and Eeasons. 



IX. 

Oh God who rules this universe 
With a powerful, mighty hand, 
Give me the freedom of nature 
Free from tyrannical bands. 
Crush all civilization 
Stamp out envy and greed 
In the path of the savage we'll follow 
Caring naught where the path will lead. 



[74] 



Rhymes and Reasons. 



CREATION. 

Man is a term used to designate 

The male of the human race, 
Representing a special family 

Of the Genus Homo is the case. 
T'was recorded that man was created, 

In the Scriptures, by God's own hand. 
On creation's sixth day a woman and man 

In God's image were made on this land. 

The time or duration of human life, 

After leaving the garden of tears, 
'Til the sins of the world were multiplied, 

Was nearly a thousand years. 
Then God, m his wrath and anger, 

Decreed to these wicked swine 
That the length of their lives should be short- 
ened 

To the status of present times. 

[75] 



Rhymes and Eeasons. 



By a process of evolution 

Is Darwin's creation of man; 
First from a species of mollusks, 

Reptiles and birds of the land; 
Thence to the lowest mammals, 

In every conceivable shape, 
'Til, at last, we come where the roads divide 

To our ancestors' anthropoid apes. 

Mankind was divided by Blumcnbach 

Into races five, so they say — 
Ethiopian, Caucasian, American, 

Mongolian and also Malay. 
Humanity's represented, 

In all of its wrong and worth, 
By these races of different origin 

That inhabit the face of the earth. 

Man's likeness to other animal forms, 

I'll only mention a few ; 
There're appetites, sensuous emotions, 

And dim sense — perceptions too ; 
Reproductions in imagination, 

Though the power behind it is faint — 
It's humorous to notice these civilized times 

That we still show some animal taint. 
[76] 



Rhymes and Reasons. 



The points of difference distinguishing 

Man from mere animal life — 
Intellect, perception and memory, 

Reflection and sacrifice, 
Intellectual synthesis and sentiments, 

Emotions and power of will. 
For thousands of years man's existed, 

We know by the tools we find still. 

A great many primitive tools of man 

Have been found, buried deep in caves ; 
Geologists say that for thousands of years 

These tools were preserved and saved. 
We know that for fifty thousand years, 

The scientists tell us so, 
That man has existed; through implements 
found 

That he used, is a proof that will show. 



[77] 



Ehymes and Reasons. 



LOVE'S DENIAL. 

There're hundreds of miles between us, 

There're months of anguish and pain; 
I want you ; 1 need you always, 

As a dying flower needs rain. 
1 love to be near you ; I love to hear 

Each word from those precious lips; 
Each smile that flitters across your face 

Is wine to my feverish lips. 

Why, in life, are the things one craves 

Snatched with spite from our clasp, 
While things we abhor and the ones we detest 

Are forced in our unwilling grasp ? 
You're the only thing that I want in jife, 

But it's madness for me to love; 
To have you I've hoped and prayed in vain 

To an Almighty God above. 

[78] 



Rhymes and Reasons. 



Just for a kiss from those ruby lips, 

For a press from your pearl-white hand; 
For a smile or a word, any token of love, 

I'd go to the ends of the land. 
Believe the truth when I say to you 

That, after my God, you're first ; 
I love you more than life itself, 

Though my love is a bitter curse. 

Why can't I have you always, 

To bask in your sunlit smile ; 
It radiates beams of happiness 

And blissful joy all the while. 
It crushes back every sorrow, 

And yields to me peace untold, 
As the Angels of God coming down to earth 

To gather me unto their fold. 



[79] 



Rhymes and Reasons. 



THE BALLAD OF A STAINLESS SOUL. 

'Twas tomorrow the orange blossoms 

Would sing with the joy of spring ; 
And lilies, the emblem of purity, 

On the frail little bride would cling. 
Everything sweet and innocent, 

That virginity emulates, 
Would whisper love on the morrow, 

When this child of God would mate. 

They were happy, so very happy, 

When they parted that April night ; 
Only a few more hours, dear, 

Twixt now and the morning light. 
Only a few short hours, dear, 

And you'll be my pretty bride ; 
We'll go through life on wings of love, 

My angel by my side. 

[80] 



Rhymes and Reasons. 



So they parted that night with happiness 

And the song of love in their hearts ; 
Tomorrow, that blessed tomorrow. 

With its essence of joy to impart. 
So gently he drew her to his breast, 

Her warm lips received his kiss — 
Their souls for a second in paradise, 

Yielding to untold bliss. 

After her lover had left her, 

Alone she strolled down the lane ; 
Love is more wonderful to the maid 

Whose soul bears not a stain. 
This girl, with the bloom of youth on her cheeks, 

Clean as the driven snow, 
The greatest asset of womanhood 

Is purity, all of us know. 

She'd just reached a turn in the forest, 

When a negro jumped in her path. 
"Where are you going, my sweetie ?" 

He said, with a coarse, brutal laugh. 
His eyes were flaming with passion, 

His lips were sensual and cruel ; 
"Come to my arms, you pretty miss, 

I'm black, but I'm nobody's fool." 
[81] ' 



Rhymes and Reasons. 



]n a short while the crime was over, 

Weakly she struggled home ; 
Bruised and battered and bleeding — 

An outcast, alone, alone ! 
My sweetheart, I'll have to tell him; 

What care I if the world has seen ; 
Happiness, love forever are lost, 

Unclean, my God, I'm unclean. 

Quickly the hours of night slipped by, 

Then twilight creepingly came: 
Madly she prayed for darkness, 

The blackness to hide her shame. 
What was there left in life for her, 

Unclean, to grovel in mud, 
Cursed by man, pitied by God, 

Polluted by negro blood. 

She told him all at their meeting, 

Horror was stamped in his eyes ; 
Your soul is as white as the robes of God- 

The soul is what never dies. 
I love you, I swear I love you ! 

For yourself and yourself alone; 
Not for the sins of a devil from hell 

Would I have my angel atone. 
[82] 



Rhymes and Reasons. 



80 they married as fate directed, 

Though nature refused to sing ; 
And the lilies that clung to the frail little bride 

Seemed to feel like a burning fating--- 
Seemed to blush, but hide their blushes 

By drooping their pearly heads. 
Flowers can't cry ; if only they could, 

What tears of grief they'd have shed. 

Months later, in a distant town, 

A baby was to be born; 
There was love in the eyes of the mother-to-be, 

Though her body was racked and torn. 
At last, the little stranger arrived, 

With joy her husband smiled; 
He pulled back the covers to kiss his wife 

And gazed on a negro child. 

Horrors ! the crowning of horrors ! 

Madly he left the room; 
Blood obscured his vision — 
Death, that grim spectre, loomed. 
A shot, the crack of a pistol, 

Blindly he ran to her bed ; 
The baby screamed for its mother; 

On the floor lay his angel — dead. 
[83] 



/ 



Ehymes and Reasons. 



Years later in a madhouse, 

Alone in a dingy cell, 
A maniac raved from morn till night, 

Like a soul that is tortured in hell. 
Screaming with heart-torn anguish, 

Praying with tear-stained eyes, 
There's written in blood on one of the walls- 

The soul is what never dies. 



[84] 



Rhymes and Reasons. 



THE REVULSION OF LOVE. 

I put my heart in your keeping, 

My body I flung at your feet ; 
I worshiped the ground that you walked on ; 

It's useless these words to repeat. 
Now that your love has lessened, 

God knows through no fault of mine, 
You fling me aside with a brutal laugh 

And your eyes with hatred do shine 

Curse the day that I met you, 

With your passionate, sensual love ! 
May the curses of hell rest on you, 

In the presence of God above. 
May all the sorrow and suffering to me, 

With hatred and malice you gave, 
Return to you from the depths of hell 

To follow you to your grave. 

[85] 



Ehymes and Eeasons. 



May every second of happiness 

Be embittered by days of regret, 
'Til the hate and revenge I hold for you 

Has been paid its terrible debt ; 
Til every blow and insult 

Has been paid its just reward. 
This curse of hate will follow you, 

I swear in the name of God- 



[86] 



Ehymes and Reasons. 



AT REST. 

Like a flower that pleads for water, 

Like a child craves its mother's breast; 
Oh God ! for the end of everything 

And the blessed eternal rest. 
Give me the grave that beckons 

And waits for its children to come — 
Sleep everlasting, peaceful sleep. 

All dangers we're guarded from. 



[87] 



Rhymes and Reasons. 



PRAYER OF A CHILD. 

Mother, what voice is that calling ? 
Why is the room so cold, 
Why is daddy pacing the floor — 
He's looking so sick and old. 

Is it the same old story 
The story of bills unpaid? 
Or is it a graver danger 
That's worrying him so today ? 

Wrap the comfort around me, 
Heap more coal on the fire 
I'm cold mother, I'm awfully cold 
Let the blaze mount higher. 

And mother, another favor, 
Won't you murmur a prayer 
Say God have mercy on my boy 
I'm leaving him in your care. 

[88] 



Rhymes and Reasons. 



Mother, your eyes are full of tears 
And daddy's crying too; 
Here dry them on my handkerchief 
They make me unhappy and blue. 

Why I'll be up in a day or two, 
In a week I'll be back at school. 
Mother why do I feel so warm 
Then all of a sudden feel cool ? 

Mother, I know that I'm dying 
Angels of God, I see 
Dear Lord bless mother and father 
And take my soul to Thee. 

God seemed to hear his childish prayer 
On that bitter December day. 
I'm leaving you mother darling 
But heaven's not far away. 



[89] 



